Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 3, March 20, 2024
A. All
activities that may detrimentally affect or significantly degrade the
wilderness quality, aesthetic values, or the ecological integrity of a system
river shall be subject to a permit except:
1.
those prohibited uses set forth in
§115 of these regulations;
2. normal activities of private landowners
within the boundaries of their property as provided by
R.S.
56:1852(B); and
3. harvesting of trees in accordance with
R.S.
56:1854, provided that prior notification of
any commercial harvesting of trees shall be given to the Louisiana Office of
Forestry.
B. Activities
requiring permits shall include, but not be limited to, the following
activities:
1. crossings by roads, bridges,
railroads, pipelines or utilities;
2. sharing of land and airspace by such
roads,
railroads, pipelines and utilities;
3. point source discharge of any pollutant
(prior to any person applying to the Department of Environmental Quality for a
permit to discharge any pollutant into a system river, the person shall give
written notice to the administrator);
4. prospecting, drilling and mining for
nonrenewable natural resources;
5.
structures and buildings of any kind or size;
6. piers, boat slips, bulkheads and
landings;
7. commercial uses,
activities and access;
8.
commercial signs or other forms of outdoor advertising that are visible from
the waters within a natural and scenic river;
9. water withdrawals, except for withdrawals
made by an individual, adjacent property owner solely for residential
purposes;
10. mooring of houseboats
or floating camps on system streams except:
a.
when the houseboat or floating camp is moored to a legally permitted piling,
pier or bulkhead or moored to trees using connections that do not damage the
trees and with the written permission of the owner of the trees. Written
permission must be physically on the houseboat or floating camp and include the
owner's contact information; and
b.
houseboats moored on a System Stream shall have a permit or letter of
certification from the Health Unit (Department of Health and Hospitals) of the
parish within which the system stream is located verifying that it has an
approved sewerage disposal system on board. Furthermore, all occupants of
houseboats and floating camps when on a system stream must utilize an approved
sewerage disposal system.
C. Application. The administrator shall
provide an application to any person wishing to apply for a permit. Any person
who proposes to make any permitted use of a system river, shall submit one
complete original application to the administrator. Any documents larger than 8
1/2" x 14" must be submitted digitally in a department approved digital format.
The application shall contain:
1. name,
address and telephone numbers of the applicant;
2. names and addresses of adjoining property
owners whose property also adjoins the waterway;
3. background information on the proposed
use;
4. a detailed description of
the proposed use;
5. full
description of any portion of the project which is under development or is
completed;
6. photographs and maps
of the area where the uses would be made;
7. full and thorough evaluation of the use's
effect on the criteria listed in Subsection F below;
8. any alternatives to the proposed
action;
9. description of steps
taken to minimize detrimental effects to the system river, and measures taken
to ensure preservation of the system;
10. identification of all authorizing local,
state, and federal agencies and all permits applied for or obtained from such
agency; and
11. description of any
noncompliance by applicant, adjudicated within Louisiana, regarding the
Louisiana Scenic Rivers Act, the United States Wild and Scenic River Act, and
all regulations and ordinances pertaining to these acts.
D. Insufficient and Incomplete Application.
Upon receipt of an application, the administrator shall determine whether the
application is sufficient and complete in light of the requirements enumerated
in Subsection C, above. If the application is not sufficient and complete, the
administrator shall return the application to the applicant with a description
of how and why the petition is insufficient or incomplete. The applicant shall
be entitled to resubmit the petition after making the necessary changes or
amendments.
E. Application Fees. An
administrative fee of $100 shall accompany each application. The administrative
fee shall be deposited immediately upon receipt into the state treasury to be
credited to the Scenic River Fund.
F. Project Evaluation. In determining whether
or not a permit should be issued, the administrator's evaluation shall consider
the purposes for which the system is established and shall be made with a view
toward maintaining the fundamental character and unique natural values
associated with the system river. Any evaluation required to be made by this
Section, shall fully and thoroughly consider, but not be limited to, the
following criteria:
1. wilderness
qualities;
2. scenic
values;
3. ecological
regimes;
4. recreation;
5. aesthetic values;
6. fish and other aquatic life;
7. wildlife;
8. historical and archaeological
resources;
9. geological
resources;
10. botanical
resources;
11. water
quality;
12. cultural
resources;
13. economics;
14. compliance history as required in §117.
C.11;
15. any reasonable
alternatives to the proposed use; and
16.
a.
whether reasonable steps have been taken by the applicant to minimize and/or
offset any detrimental effects on natural and physical features and
resources;
b. a field evaluation of
the project site by the administrator's staff may be required. If such a field
evaluation is necessary, the applicant shall pay a service charge of $135 for
each day required to complete the actual, on-site field evaluation.
G. Consultation. Prior
to any final decision on any application for a permit, the administrator shall
prepare a written evaluation of the application and shall consult with the
Louisiana State Planning Office, the Department of Environmental Quality, the
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, the Department of Agriculture
and Forestry and any other agency the administrator determines may have an
interest in the permit. The consultation shall be conducted within 30 days of
receipt of a sufficient and complete application. By the end of this time
period, the reviewing agencies shall forward any written comments and
supporting documents to the administrator. However, the administrator can grant
additional time for a consultation for good cause.
H. Written Comments and Public Hearing. Prior
to making the final decision on a permit application, the administrator shall:
1. provide all interested parties and the
public, the opportunity to submit written comment on the permit application,
allowing a 45-day comment period;
2. in response to a showing of substantial
interest by the public for a hearing as demonstrated by written requests from
no less than 25 persons or from a group representing not less than 25 members,
or upon request by the applicant, or at the administrator's own discretion,
hold a public hearing. The hearing will be held whenever such a hearing might
clarify one or more issues concerning the application, and to receive comments
and recommendations from all interested parties and the public. If a hearing is
held it shall be in the vicinity of the river. The administrator shall give its
first notice at least 30 days prior to the hearing;
3. notices referred to in this Section will
be published in the official journal of each parish in which the river is
located in three separate issues and in the official state journal; however,
the comment period shall begin with publication of the notice in the official
state journal. The administrator shall notify each parish governing authority
of the hearing by letter to its chief executive officer. The administrator
shall also give special notice of the public hearing to all readily
identifiable landowners with property adjacent to the nominated stream and to
other interested parties who have requested such notifications.
I. Time Period for Review of the
Application. The administrator shall make a decision whether to grant or deny
the permit within 30 days after the adjournment of the hearing or the end of
the written comment period, whichever is latest.
J. Waiver of Evaluation Time Period. Upon the
specific authorization of the administrator, or the state legislature, the
evaluation required by §117. F-I, and/or the procedural delays provided for in
Subsections L and M may be waived; provided, however, that the administrator
may only authorize a waiver in emergency circumstances clearly appearing from
the face of the applicant's application and only after concurrence in the
waiver is given by personnel of the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the
Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism, State Planning Office, the
Department of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Department of Environmental
Quality.
K. Reports of Permitted
Uses. To the extent that it is feasible, it shall be the policy of the
administrator to inform users and potential users of system rivers as to what
types of uses will be permitted. In carrying out this policy, the administrator
shall, from time to time, publish reports describing what types of uses have
been permitted and what types of uses have not been permitted after the
evaluations required by
§117 have been undertaken.
L. Denial of Permits. The administrator shall
deny a permit for use of a system river if, after a full and thorough
evaluation, the administrator finds that the proposed or alternative use would
be unreasonable in light of the objective of maintaining the fundamental
character and unique natural values associated with the system river.
M. Permit Conditions
1. In issuing any permit, the administrator
may:
a. require conditions in the use and may
require that appropriate steps be taken to minimize and/or offset the
detrimental effects on the natural and physical features and resources
enumerated by Subsection F, above, as a condition to the granting of the
permit; and
b. require assurance,
including security, during the construction phase of the project, to assure
compliance with permit requirements.
2. In setting the required assurance and
security, the administrator shall consider any noncompliance by applicant,
adjudicated within Louisiana, regarding the Louisiana Scenic Rivers Act, the
United States Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and all regulations and ordinances
pertaining to these acts.
N. Final Decision. The final decision by the
administrator on any application for a permit shall:
1. be in the form of a written
report;
2. be part of the record of
the decision;
3. include an
evaluation of the impacts on the criteria provided for in Subsection F, above;
and
4. give full and meaningful
consideration and appropriate weight to the comments from other reviewing
agencies.
O. Copies. The
administrator shall provide copies of the final decision to:
1. Louisiana State Planning Office;
2. Department of Environmental
Quality;
3. Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism;
4.
Department of Agriculture and Forestry; and
5. other interested parties who provide a
written request.
P.
Modification and Revocation. The administrator may modify or revoke a permit,
for good cause, after notice and an adjudicatory hearing, unless waived by
permittee. Good cause includes, but is not limited to:
1. any adjudicated violation of the permit
conditions, the act or these regulations;
2. new and material evidence regarding the
evaluation criteria listed in §117. F; and
3. intentional misrepresentation of a
material fact on the permit application.
Q. Failure to Begin Activity-Extensions. The
permit shall expire if the activity has not begun within 18 months of permit
issuance, except that the administrator may grant a maximum of two extensions
of six months each upon a finding that there has been no significant change in
circumstances.
R. Appeals of Final
Decision. Any person who is denied a permit by the department may institute
legal proceedings against the department in the Nineteenth Judicial District
Court.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
56:1844,
56:1849,
56:1852
and
56:1854.
